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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

04 December 2002

Transcript: Turkey Gives Strong Affirmations of Support on Iraq, Wolfowitz Says

(Dec. 4 Deputy Defense Secretary with U.S. traveling press in Ankara)
(3100)
The newly elected government of Turkey has given the United States
"very strong affirmations" of support for dealing with the crisis with
Iraq, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told journalists
accompanying him to Ankara after his meetings with Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul and with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the ruling Justice
and Development Party.
"We have agreement to move forward with concrete measures of military
planning and preparations that are essential to working out with some
specificity what kinds of forces might be based in Turkey, where they
might be based, and what kinds of improvements would have to be made
to facilities," Wolfowitz said. He added that the potential investment
in these facilities could be several hundred million dollars.
Wolfowitz underscored the importance of having Turkey's input and
support in efforts to disarm Iraq because of its location and
experience.
"I think it's a very strong message to Saddam Hussein and the regime
in Baghdad, that in fact Iraq is surrounded by the international
community," he said. "They [Turkey] have dealt with Saddam Hussein
over a long period of time. They understand that it's not going to
have that kind of basic change in attitude and policy unless he's
confronted with a serious threat of course, and they clearly are part
of building that capability."
Wolfowitz also made the point that Turkey's new leaders believe in the
importance of democracy in a Muslim country. "It makes them quite
unhappy -- agonized might be the word -- looking at the condition of
the Iraqi people," he said.
U.S. principles regarding several Iraqi-related issues that involve
Turkey "are very clear," according to Wolfowitz. "We repeatedly
expressed our support for the territorial integrity of Iraq, our
opposition to a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, [and] our concerns and
support for the Turkoman population of Iraq."
Because there are so many issues to discuss, Wolfowitz said, including
Turkey's bid to join the European Union, he announced that President
Bush has invited Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Washington, hopefully
before the December 12-13 EU summit in Copenhagen.
Following is a transcript of the December 4 press roundtable in
Ankara:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of Defense
News Briefing
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PAUL WOLFOWITZ ROUNDTABLE WITH U.S.
TRAVELING PRESS
Hilton Hotel
Ankara, Turkey
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002
WOLFOWITZ: We had discussions with both the Prime Minister and the
head of the Justice and Development Party. We had a long dinner with
Mr. Erdogan last night. And I would say, overall, the attitude of this
new government is very encouraging. It comes in with very strong
democratic potentials and an extremely strong parliamentary mandate, a
majority. And they've made it clear in everything they've done in the
first few days really in office how committed they are to Turkey's
role as a western-oriented democracy. Mr. Erdogan, I think, has
visited 14 European capitals in fewer than that number of days, making
Turkey's case for accession to the European Union. During the course
of this visit, including dinner last night, we spent a great deal of
time talking about the issues involved in it -- Turkey's trying to get
a date for beginning accession negotiations, and also the issues
connected with the [United Nations] Secretary General's peace proposal
for Cyprus. We are very supportive of that effort and my colleague
Marc Grossman left early this morning for Nicosia to continue
discussions on those issues related to Cyprus.
In addition to strongly expressing their commitment to joining the
European Union and commitment to the democratic values that we
sometimes call western values but I think are universal values, we
also got very strong affirmations of Turkish support for the United
States in this crisis with Iraq.
We said at all levels of the government that we spoke to that Turkey
has been with us always in the past and will be with us now, that
Turkey's support is assured. I think it's a very strong message to
Saddam Hussein and the regime in Baghdad, that in fact Iraq is
surrounded by the international community. They do have to face a firm
(inaudible) decision about whether they will disarm peacefully or
whether we will be forced to disarm them. And on that score, also, I
think we found a very good understanding from the Turkish government
of what's required to achieve a peaceful resolution to the problem
posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They have dealt with
Saddam Hussein over a long period of time. They understand that it's
not going to have that kind of basic change in attitude and policy
unless he's confronted with a serious threat of course, and they
clearly are part of building that capability.
Also I would say that they have a better understanding than many of
our coalition partners of just how horribly the Iraqi regime treats
its own people. I would say in many ways, this new government feels
that more strongly than certainly its predecessor, and I would say
more strongly than governments we deal with. They believe in democracy
and the importance of democracy in a Muslim country. It makes them
quite unhappy -- agonized might be the word -- looking at the
condition of the Iraqi people. We have agreement to move forward with
concrete measures of military planning and preparations that have
frankly been in a bit of a holding pattern while the new government
was getting established. That planning effort and those preparatory
measures are essential to working out with some specificity what kinds
of forces might be based in Turkey, where they might be based, and
what kinds of improvements would have to be made to facilities. So
that's the immediate task, of course, but there are also some larger
issues. There are more issues for Turkey in the military action of
helping in Iraq than probably any other country because the range of
potential military forces involved is broader than any other coalition
partner. Because Turkey is directly affected by what takes place next
door in Iraq, and particularly the Turkish economy that will be
affected, and finally because Turkey is probably more affected than
any of our coalition partners by what comes afterwards in Iraq, and
particularly in northern Iraq.
There still are clearly important issues that we need to continue
working with the Turkish government. The principles are very clear. We
repeatedly expressed our support for the territorial integrity of
Iraq, our opposition to a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, our concerns
and support for the Turkoman population of Iraq. And those are fine
principles but there are many concrete issues that are important
should it come to the use of force. But let me emphasize: our goal is
to avoid the use of force, and the key to doing that -- and this
Turkish government understands it -- the key to doing that is
confronting Saddam Hussein, surrounding Saddam Hussein with a unified
international community.
I think the last point I would like to make is that it's difficult to
exaggerate the importance of economics for Turkey and for Turkish
public opinion with respect to almost everything that's going on in
this country right now. This is a country that's been through an
economic crisis. It still hasn't emerged from it, though we see some
hopeful signs. When you have that kind of situation, it's the poor
people who suffer the most. This government was elected partly because
of the suffering of the Turkish people. They are, like all Turks and
like our government, concerned that if it should come to a military
crisis in Iraq, the use of force in Iraq, that we do everything
possible to mitigate the economic consequences.
I would also say it's important to do everything possible to make sure
that a military action if necessary is as quick and decisive as
possible. But it was interesting last night, at dinner, when Mr.
Erdogan was describing quite eloquently the condition of the poor in
Turkey, particularly in southeastern Turkey, which is the area of
course that's closest to Iraq, probably the poorest part of the
country, he mentioned that there are some 50,000 tanker trucks that
are idle because of the ongoing economic sanctions against Iraq, and
that each of those trucks supports three families worth 150,000
families [sic]. I suppose it's half a million to a million Turks whose
livelihood has been taken away by the ongoing economic crisis. And of
course, to him -- and I understand that -- it's a symbol of what can
be at risk for Turkey if the crisis deepens. But I think it's also a
symbol of what can be opened up if we can get to a free and prosperous
and open Iraq which has gotten rid of its weapons of mass destruction
and is dealing in a fair and open way with its neighbors.
There's a huge potential for Turkey, on the medium term, and certainly
the long term, in opening up economic relations with Iraq. So while we
are all in a mood of crisis and how to deal with the crisis, and how
to deal with Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, I think it's very
important to emphasize that the end result here has got to be
something that's better for Turkey, better for the United States,
better for the people of Iraq, and better for the world.
One last thing I'll mention which is important: President Bush has
invited Mr. Erdogan to come to Washington. We hope he might be able to
do that soon, since there are many issues to discuss with him,
including if he can come before the Copenhagen summit, obviously that
complex of issues is still very much alive. We are going to do
everything that we can to assist Turkey's bid to join the EU.
Obviously, also, we want to continue not only with the military
planning-level talks but with the higher-level political talks in the
(inaudible).
QUESTION: Can you shed any light on the Turkish stand on the use of
their airbases following the statements and clarifications in the last
few hours from the Turkish government as to what specifically they
would allow?
WOLFOWITZ: I would say we're close but not yet exactly at the point of
saying which bases we would use, certainly under which conditions. In
fact, the immediate focus of our planning efforts needs to be to
identify how much investment we've got to make in various bases if we
are going to use them. We're talking potentially about tens of
millions, probably several hundred million dollars of investment in
various facilities that we might use. So it's not a small step. It's a
step that we want to tee up for a political decision quickly, because
it's an important step to take. But I think that's an immediate
military task.
Q: We had an opportunity to have an exchange with the Foreign Minister
yesterday. And he articulated Turkey's position as follows: He said
fairly explicitly that Turkey would require a second UN Security
Council Resolution before any military campaign could be launched from
Turkish soil -- a position his political advisor in the party
reiterated. He said that substantial or a large number of U.S. ground
forces was politically unsustainable. It was just more than the
traffic would bear if we're talking about thousands or tens of
thousands of ground forces. And he did say that he could envision
cooperation on airspace or airbases, but within the parameters that
there would have to be a Security Council Resolution and the process
of inspections in Iraq would have to be pretty much exhausted. And he
said that -- implied that -- on their side they might have more
patience on this than the United States, although they also agreed
that WMD was a problem. Are you satisfied with that degree of
undertaking from the Turks, since it's the Bush administration
position that you don't require a second resolution and since the last
few days you've been talking about the need to present Iraq with a
fairly substantial threat which -- while you didn't specify exactly
what it might be -- it seemed to imply might go beyond the use of [a]
few airbases.
WOLFOWITZ: Personally I wouldn't dismiss the use of [a] few airbases
as a small thing. That's exactly what we had from Turkey in the Gulf
War. And it's extremely important, and more than almost any other
coalition partner is even considering doing. So when I said the range
of possible Turkish participation is broader than any other partner, I
mean that there is no other coalition partner that has as many
possible ways of assisting us. Also, Turkey is the only partner that
borders Iraq and is also a democracy. Let's not take that too lightly.
The ultimate decisions in Turkey are decisions that have to be taken
by a democratic government, and it needs the support of public opinion
and has to go to parliament. So we're talking about big decisions. And
that there is some debate about exactly the circumstances is not
surprising to me.
We didn't get a chance to meet the Foreign Minister (inaudible). By
the way, it is worth emphasizing that any government, especially a new
government, will find its plate completely full with the issues of
Copenhagen, and the issue of Cyprus and EU accession. Our meeting with
the Prime Minister ran long, and the Foreign Minister had to go and
meet the British Foreign Secretary. This is a very intense pace of
activity here in Turkey. But as you said correctly -- and I think in
fact the Foreign Minister stated this correctly -- the UN's Security
Council Resolution 1441 doesn't automatically authorize the use of
force. It does require a second meeting of the Security Council. But
it does not require a second Security Council resolution. As to what
Turkey may need politically, I think, obviously, the Turkish
government is the one that has to decide that. We have to make our own
decisions about what level of dependence and commitment we will make
with Turkey based on those understandings. But we had extremely good
discussions with the Prime Minister and with Mr. Erdogan, and very
strong expressions of Turkey's commitment to the alliance with the
United States, Turkey's determination to be with the United States.
I can assure the Foreign Minister and everyone else in this country
that we will do everything possible to achieve a peaceful resolution
to this issue, that we will exhaust all peaceful means. But you know
the Turks are more realistic than many other people we've talked to
about the fact that the only way to get to a peaceful outcome here is
to convince Saddam Hussein that we're serious. And I think they
understand that. I think Saddam Hussein should understand that they
understand that. And the fact that there really is a very strong sense
in this country and in this government that we need to get this issue
resolved.
Q: It's just to clarify. Is this desire for a second resolution a
Turkish policy or the Foreign Minister's preference?
WOLFOWITZ: Well first of all, I'm not here to speak for the Foreign
Minister. I read his answer to your question, and I thought it was a
little less explicit than you're making it but he has to speak for
himself. There are different views, I think, among Turks, and commonly
different views within the Turkish government. But it is an important
question. It's one that we need to clarify at the highest levels of
both governments. It's one reason why Mr. Erdogan can come to
Washington, although it would not be by any means the only issue on
the agenda. In fact, I think we'd like him to come, as I said, before
Copenhagen so that we can discuss those issues. We need some clarity
about it, but I feel generally very good about Turkey's commitment to
be with the United States.
Q: Given the reluctance of nations to host U.S. ground troops, at
least in large numbers in the Gulf area, is there a shortage of places
from which you can deploy ground troops? Is that a concern at all?
WOLFOWITZ: I think we're quite comfortable with what we can do from
the south. Obviously, if we are going to have significant ground
forces in the north this is the country they have to come through,
there is no other option. And that is a more complicated issue than
probably any other potential issue. And it is, I think, clearly
connected to concerns about what northern Iraq will look like after
removal of the Saddam Hussein regime. But it's strongly our position
-- we've repeated it here and we will repeat it in further discussions
with Turkish officials -- that Turkey will be better off if they are
there to help manage what comes afterwards, that a vacuum is not in
Turkey's interest. And if we can have some clarity about what is the
role of a coalition force and what their role is not, we think that
some of these issues will be easier to solve. But it's a mistake to
focus first on the military peace without having gotten more clarity
on political (inaudible).
Q: Can you confirm that the Turk's commitment was to allow the U.S.
use of bases? After the Foreign Minister spoke, the Foreign Ministry
released a statement saying that the use of bases was a possibility
but that there was no binding Turkish commitment.
WOLFOWITZ: Let me make clear there isn't a firm American request.
We're going to go now immediately into very concrete discussions about
what facilities might be used, what forces might be deployed on them,
how much money is going to have to be invested to make them, bring
them up to the level that we need. That will bring us hopefully fairly
quickly to the next level of discussions and decisions. But until we
are at that point, we're still talking theoretically.
Q: In principle did they agree that the U.S. could use their bases?
And was that new this trip?
WOLFOWITZ: When they say that we have been with you in the past and we
will be with you this time, that's what being with us means. I mean, I
don't think there is any other interpretation of that. Obviously the
devil is in the details. There are very important details here. But
I'm quite confident that we will in fact have a significant level of
Turkish participation -- exactly how much is something that we've been
working on quite intensively.
Thank you very much.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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